the Prophet was born in Makka. he was born around A.D. 570. Both his parents died young, his father, ' Abd-Allah, first and his mother, Aminah, shortly after. It is said that he was about six years of age at the time of his mother's death. His grandfather 'Abd-al- Muttalib, a prominent leader in Makka, then took charge of him. It is related that' Abd-al-Muttalib loved the boy dearly and often kept him close beside him, even in meetings where important affairs were discussed, usually in the shade of the Ka'bah. When his uncles would try to remove the child, the grandfather would prevent them, saying, 'Let him be; my child will be leader of his people.'

Upon the death of his grandfather, Muhammad's guardianship passed to his uncle Abu- Talib, a no less devoted patron, whose love for and protection of Muhammad persisted long after the Prophet proclaimed his mission and the new faith. Even though Abu- Talib was never converted to the new religion, he continued to show love and protection for his nephew, despite extreme hardships and dangers, until his death, when Muhammad was fifty years old.

Makka was the traditional centre of Arabia in both religion and trade; it was the crossroad of commercial transit between east and west, north and south. Abu- Talib's clan, the Banu ' Abd Manaf, the most influential in all Arabia, was apart of the great Quraysh tribe, and formed an important element in the oligarchy that ruled Makka and its surrounding tribes. The Prophet's youth was that of the normal young Qurayshi -he fought the battles, joined the peace negotiations, and shared in the duties and rights of his society except that he manifested from early years a revulsion to the worship of idols. Once when he was besought to act in the name of the gods al-Lat and al-Uzza, he replied with the startling answer, 'Do not ask me anything for the sake of these idols. I have never hated anything more.'

But such strong expressions of disbelief in the gods or idols of his tribe did not alienate his kinsmen and friends from him or close him out from their friendly society, for he was loved by all for his noble character and great kindness and honesty. It was only at the age of forty, when his duty to the one God compelled him to preach against idol worship, that his people began to persecute him.

Muhammad, like the rest of the young men in Abu- Talib's family, had to work and help preserve the dignity of a generation of Hashimites who, though they were less prosperous than their predecessors, still remained proud and powerful. He acted as a shepherd, and later, while participating in business, his relations with his people gained him the name of al-Ameen (trustworthy).

At the age of twenty-five, he married a lady of forty, his first wife, Khadijah, a relative and a rich widow.. They lived twenty-five years together in prosperity and happiness, and had four daughters and two sons, but of the daughters who lived and married, only Fatimah had descendants.  Muhammad was a devoted, loving father, and was kind to children in general. In his twenty-five years of life with KhadlJah, he was the ideal husband. When she died, he remained several years without a wife, and even after he married for a number of reasons - several wives, he always remembered Khadijah. 'When I was poor, she enriched me; when they called me a liar, she alone remained true. ' It is an undisputed fact that Khadijah was the first to believe in Muhammad's mission. Fatimah was the mother of Hasan and Husain. Her husband' Ali was a cousin and the fourth Caliph.

 When he received his first revelation while on a retreat in the country side , he returned home frightened and shivering. Khadljah received him with the comforting words, 'No, you have nothing to fear. God will never let you down; you are kind to your relatives, you are astute and patient, you give to the needy, you are generous to guests, and you never fail to relieve people from distress.'

So was Muhammad described by the one who knew him best before the call and the prophetic revelation. Let us now follow his role in the great story that was destined to transform his land, his people and the world.

Muhammad, at the age of forty, was inclined to worship in solitude in a cave called Hira outside the city. It was while praying, during the sacred month of his people, that he heard a voice command him, 'Read.' 'I  cannot read,' he replied. But the voice again commanded him, 'Read: in the name of the Lord Who creates ...man from a clot. Read: And your Lord is the Most Bounteous. Who teaches (writing) by the pen, teaches man that which he knew not.

Trembling, Muhammad rushed home to Khadijah and told her of his experience. She comforted him and encouraged him. After a short interlude, he again heard the voice calling to him: 'You are the messenger of God, and I am Gabriel.' Rushing back to Khadijah in a state of complete exhaustion, he asked that she cover him with a cloak. Then he heard the call: 'O you enveloped in your cloak, arise and warn! your Lord magnify, your raiment purify, pollution shun! And show not favour, seeking worldly gain! For the sake of the Lord, be patient!'

It was then Muhammad realised what his mission to his people was to be, and that was how it began. It is this mission which forms the subject of this book this mission which conquered the hearts of men, . and continues to do so with soaring vitality over thirteen centuries

later. .'., Muhammad's sincerity was never doubted by those who knew him well his wife, his attendant-secretary , and his young cousin' Ail who lived with him; these were his first converts. And though to his grief he could not convert his uncle Abu- Talib, the old man never ceased to show faith in the sincerity of his nephew: when' All, his son, converted, he told him, 'Go, my son: he will never call you but to what is. good.

Was Muhammad's inspiration genuine? Did he speak in entirely good faith? The Muslims, of course, had no doubt; but this was also the attitude of knowledgeable men and serious scholars. Such men were and still are convinced of Muhammad's earnestness, faithfulness and sincerity.

According to Tor Andrae:

Formerly, men thought that his character revealed a certain premeditation, a calculating cleverness. ..That Muhammad acted

 in good faith can hardly be disputed by anyone who knows the psychology of inspiration. That the message which he proclaimed did not come from himself nor from his own ideas and opinion, is not only a tenet of his faith, but also an experience whose reality he never questioned. Possibly he was in doubt at first as to the identity of the hidden voice as to whether it really came from the heavenly messenger whom he had seen in the mountains of Mecca or from an ordinary jinni

Muhammad quietly preached his faith in One God for some time. He won a few converts: his best friend, Abu-Bakr, a wise, respected and rich merchant; later 'Uthman and Talhah, equally important and well-to-do Makkan Qurayshis; and a number of poor citizens and slaves. Then he received the command to preach in public: 'Thus We send you (O Muhammad) to a nation, before whom other nations have passed away, that you may recite to them that which We have inspired

.in you. ..Thus have We revealed it, a decisive utterance (Qur'an) in Arabic. ..

With this command from God, the Prophet went forward to warn his people against idol worship and to tell them to expect a resurrection and a day of judgement.

He stood for the first time on the Hill of Safa opposite the Ka'bah, where the Makkan idols were glorified, and said to the people: 'Supposing I now told you that just behind the slopes of this hill there was an enemy cavalry force charging on you. Would you believe?' 'We never knew that you lied,' they replied.

Then he said, 'I warn you i have a Message from God, and I have come to you as a warner and as the forerunner of a dreadful punishment. I cannot protect you in this world, nor can I promise you anything in the next life, unless you declare that there is no God but the one GOd.'17

They mocked him and went away. Thus began his ten-year career of active struggle and persecution in Makka. He did not desist from preaching to his people of a punishment that would come upon the unbelieving city. He told them, ill the fiery language of the early Surahs, how God had punished the old tribes of the Arabs who would not believe in His messengers -how the flood had swallowed up the people who would not harken to Noah.

He swore unto them -by the wonderful sights of nature, by the noonday brightness, by the night when it spreads its view, by the day when it appears in glory -that a like destruction would assuredly come upon them if they did not turn away from their idols and serve God alone. He fired his Message with every resource of language and metaphor until it seared the ears of his people. And then he told them of the last day when a just reckoning would be made of the deeds they had done, and he spoke of Paradise and Hell with all the glow of Eastern imagery. The people were moved and terrified; conversions increased.

It was time for the Qurayshis to take action. If the idols were destroyed, what would become of them, the keepers of the idols, and their renown throughout the land? How would they retain the allegiance of the neighbouring tribes who came to worship their several divinities at the Ka'bah? That a few should follow the ravings of a mad man or magician who preferred one God above the beautiful deities of Makka was of small concern; but that some leading men of the city should join the sect, and that the magician should terrify the people in broad daylight with his denunciation of the worship which they superintended, was intolerable. The chiefs were seriously alarmed, and resolved on a more active policy. Hitherto they had merely ridiculed the preacher of this new faith; now they would take stronger measures. Muhammad they dared not touch directly, for he belonged to a noble family which, though reduced and impoverished, deserved well of the city and which, moreover, was now headed by a man who was revered throughout Makka and was none other than the adoptive father and protector of Muhammad himself. Nor was it safe to attack the other chief men among the Muslims, for blood revenge was no light risk. They were thus compelled to content themselves with the invidious satisfaction of  torturing the black slaves who had joined the 'obnoxious faction'.

The struggle grew in intensity. The Makkan oligarchy was seriously disturbed. Muhammad was in earnest: he was the Messenger of God, and was under His orders. The idols of Makka were not gods or partners with the Almighty; they were helpless and useless, and there was no god but Allah. This purest form of monotheism, which is the essence of Muhammad's faith, was an impossible doctrine for the Qurayshis to accept. The polytheism of Makka had been established from time immemorial. It was not only the religion of their ancestors but the

, source of their distinction in all Arabia. If it went, with it would go their honour, power and wealth. Muhammad was the descendant of 'Abd-Manaf, Hashim, and 'Abd al-Mutalib, who, generation after generation, had been the leading men of the Quraysh and had had its interest at heart; so why not try to settle with him, on whatever might satisfy his dream of power and ambition?

A prominent leader of the Makkan oligarchy, 'Utbah ibn-Rabf 'ah, was authorized to negotiate with Muhammad. 'Utbah called Muhammad to the Ka'bah and there stated his proposals: 'O son of my brother, you know your place among us Qurayshis. Your ancestors are high in our pedigree, and your clan is foremost and strong. You " have shocked and disturbed your people. You have broken their unity;  you have ridiculed their wisdom; you have insulted their gods; you have degraded their religion; and you have even denied piety and pure faith to their ancestors.'

Muhammad then said, 'I am listening.' 'Utbah continued, saying, 'If you want wealth, we will all contribute to make you the richest of us all. If your object is honour and power, we will make you our leader and promise to decide nothing without you. If, even, you think of royalty, we will elect you our king. If that which you experience and see' -meaning the revelation and the visitation of Gabriel -'is beyond your control and cannot defend yourself against it, we shall help cure you by spending money for medical care. It is possible for a man to be overcome by the force of an unseen power until he finds a way to a cure.'

Muhammad's answer was frustrating to the great representative of the Makkan leaders. He said, with respect, , Abu al- Walid, listen to me, please,' whereupon he began to recite from the Qur'an the basic tenets of his new creed.

The negotiation was broken; a compromise was impossible. Muhammad wanted nothing less than a complete submission to the new faith. He himself was only a Messenger, and he had to carry out his orders from God and fulfill His mission faithfully.

The situation became more serious. The Makkan oligarchy resorted to violence against the growing humble element of the new congregation. They appealed to Muhammad's dignity and to his aristocratic blood, rebuking him for being the leader of the slaves and the unworthy in the city: 'You are followed only by the contemptible and degraded people who do not think.

But Muhammad was not sent to the aristocrats alone; he was a Messenger to all people. He was preaching what God ordered: 'O Mankind! Lo! We. ..have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another (and be friends). Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct.'

The persecution of those who listened to the Apostle of God continued. At last the Makkan leaders appealed to Muhammad's sense of tribal solidarity. They explained the danger to which the Quraysh and the city were exposed by the humiliation of their idols and the dissolution of Arab religious tradition. They said, 'If we were to follow the right path with you, we would be torn out of our land (and dispersed). They meant that they would be no different from the nomads of Arabia and would not be secure in their homes.

For Muhammad that danger did not exist. God Who commanded him would provide for the defence of the faithful and the victory of those who abided by His Law. They should know and recognize the truth that the idols were helpless stones, and that there was no God but the Almighty Allah, the Creator of all, who had no partners. They

should recognize that there would be a resurrection and a day of judgement in which nothing would avail but devotion to God.

But they hated that menace of a judgement, and did not believe in a resurrection. A prominent leader, Umayyah ibn-Khalaf, took a decayed human bone from its grave and brought it to the Prophet, asking, 'You say that this will come to life again?'

'He Who has created it in the first instance can make it return,' the Prophet replied.

The arguments and disputes went on, accompanied by an intensive persecution of the Prophet's followers. Muhammad then advised them to migrate to the opposite side of the Red Sea, to Christian Abyssinia (Ethiopia). They were received there by the Negus (emperor), whose protection they asked. According to tradition, they appealed to him in these words: 'O King, we lived in ignorance, idolatry and impurity; the strong oppressed the weak; we spoke untruths; we violated the duties

of hospitality. Then a Prophet arose, one whom we knew from our youth, whose decent conduct, good faith, and morality is well known  to all of us. He told us to worship one God, to speak the truth, to keep

good faith, to assist our relations, to fulfil the duties of hospitality, and  to abstain from all things Impure and unrighteous; and he ordered us to offer prayers, to give alms, and to fast. We believed in him, and we followed him. But our countrymen persecuted us, tortured us, and tried to cause us to forsake our religion. And now we throw ourselves upon your protection. Will you not protect us?'

The Muslim refugees recited parts of the Qur'an which praise Jesus and the Virgin Mary. It is said that the Negus and bishops thought their belief to be derived from the same sources as those of Christianity. Meanwhile, the Makkans did not remain idle. They sent emissaries with presents to the Abyssinians and petitioned them for the surrender of their escaped slaves and the other emigrants; but they were refused.

In Makka, the Prophet and a few of his converts, who through tribal customs and clan usages could protect themselves, remained as adamant and as devoted as ever in preaching the faith and in praying publicly at the Ka'bah against its gods.

The leaders of the Quraysh had already tried to negotiate with Muhammad's kinsmen, the Banl1-H!ishim, for the Prophet's death, offering payment of blood money in return, but the tribe had refused the offer. Finally, the Makkan oligarchy decided in desperation to take steps against Abu- Talib. In their opinion, he was the real protector of the blasphemy, although still a revered upholder of Makkan institutions and unconverted to Muhammad's faith. They agreed to send him an ultimatum. When he received their warning, the old man was disturbed. He called in his nephew and told him that he had been warned by his tribe. 'lam afraid that the masses of Arabs will rally against me. Save yourself and me, and burden me not beyond the possible.'

Muhammad wept, and answered, 'May God be my witness, if they were to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, I would not renounce my Message but would rather perish instead.' Then he departed, but his uncle called him back and said, 'Go, my son. Say what you believe; I shall never, under any circumstance, let you down.'

This stand taken by the uncle, who was never converted to the new faith and who remained a leader in Makka with its pagan traditions and codes of honour, constitutes a remarkable episode in history. Abu- Talib, though strictly a traditionalist and unwilling to part with his ancestors' religion, had found it just as important or even more important not to surrender to growing pressures or persecute his protege, of whose sincerity and righteousness he had no doubt.

The Makkan leaders were perplexed. Abu- Talib's refusal to act , meant war. The Arabs were used to feuds and wars, but they could not accept this challenge, for it would have involved fratricidal slaughter in which Muhammad's followers would be negligible. The staunch traditionalists like themselves, including a majority of the Hashimites, Muttalibites, and others, would fight for the Prophet's cause for family reasons while sharing the Makkans' religion; and those who shared his faith (Abu-Bakr, 'Uthman, Talhah, 'Umar, and others) would be on the other side against their kinsmen. The leaders backed down, waiting for Muhammad to realize the dangerous situation toward which he was leading his clan, its supporters and those who believed in him.

Muhammad was not to seek any conciliation. He was in the hands of God. He was sure that another, higher will was directing his destiny, and that the only way out was for the Quraysh to see, despite all its pride and vested interests, that its shame lay in worshipping useless idols that could not direct men to piety and righteousness in this world or save them in the next on the great day of judgement. He was sent through the mercy of God to make the Arabs a worthy people dedicated to the cause of serving mankind and their Creator .

The Quraysh and its mass supporters heaped ridicule and contempt upon the Prophet and his mission, and threw dirt on him wherever he went, but to no avail. He still preached publicly, and went to the

Ka'bah to pray in his own way. Ultimately, they decided to take extreme measures against his family, the Hashimites: they refused to have any contact with them, to marry with them, or even to trade with them. They pledged themselves to that end in a proclamation which they placed in the sacred Ka'bah.

Abu- Talib wisely and quietly took stock of the situation, and decided to withdraw to a valley on the eastern outskirts of Makka, where he and the loyal Hashimites entrenched themselves. He wanted to avoid bloodshed, and all Hashimite supporters, except Abu-Lahab, felt the same way. The Muttalib clan, cousins of the Hashimites, followed suit, and also entrenched themselves in the shi'b (a short, closed valley). Deprived of everything for more than two years, the Hashimites and their supporters endured extreme hardships. Food was scarce; there was not enough to meet their needs. Some of the merciful people of the city would now and then smuggle a camel-load of food and supplies to them.

Hardly any new converts were made during this period. Most of those converts who remained outside the shi'b took refuge in Abyssinia. Nevertheless, the Prophet's determination and courage never weakened.. He continued to go to the Ka'bah and to pray publicly. He used every opportunity to preach to outsiders who visited Makka for business or on pilgrimage during the sacred months. He never doubted God's ultimate victory.

In the third year of boycott and siege, many Quraysh leaders began to feel guilty about isolating their kinsmen to perish in the shi'b. After all, the majority of those boycotted and besieged were not even Converts; they were idol worshippers, like themselves, but they were going through these trials just the same, in keeping with their code of honour , for the protection of a kinsman who had always been a truthful and honest person.

The moderates found an excuse in that the proclamation suspended in the Ka'bah under the watchful eyes of the idol gods was eaten by worms.. The merciful party thus took courage; their leaders put on their arms and went to the shi'b, where the exiles had been suffering, and extricated them.

And so, in the eighth year of the Prophet's mission, the converts, his uncle Abu Ti\lib, and the clan that had honoured its tribal tradition in giving protection to a faithful son went back to their homes.

That was not the end of the bad times and suffering. Muhammad soon lost his uncle, the veteran Sheik of Banu-Hashim. Abu Talib was